Food Ideas for a 1st Birthday Party

By Charity Curley Mathews

Celebrating your baby’s first birthday is a big deal. From the invitations to the decorations to the food, there’s some serious planning to do! Have no fear — we’ve got the food stuff covered. As you’re putting together the menu, consider these eight adorable (yet easy) ideas. They’re perfect for your one-year-old’s big day.

Charity Curley Mathews

Mini croissants or freshly made crescent rolls become crabs faster than you can say Under the Sea. Just affix googly eyes (try to find the kind with adhesive) to toothpicks and insert on an angle.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

For a fun twist on a veggie tray, use the an assortment of drinking glasses and vases to display veggie sticks vertically. Attach googly eyes and you’re done!

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

You know those little round cheeses that come in red wax? Carefully unwrap each one, pulling the wax strip right down the center, leaving the very end still attached. Pull apart with your fingers to create a wedge shape then use a black marker to make the dots.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

Arrange rice cereal treats into the shape of a “1”, then set up a tractor nearby so it appears to be creating the display. Instead of squares, cut your “bales” into rectangles; the more uniform the better.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

For the body: Use a cookie cutter to cut white and wheat sandwich bread into circles. Apply peanut butter to the wheat, jelly to the white and make 16 sandwiches. Arrange them into the shape of a caterpillar, with mini cucumber wedges for feet.

For the head: Cut a toothpick to about 1/2 inch. Insert into your tomato head, with about 1/8 inch sticking out, and hang the olives. Make a pair of crisscrosses on top of the tomato and gently poke the cucumber skins in.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

Fill a mini-muffin pan with your favorite cornbread mix then pop half a miniature smoked sausage link right in the middle of each one. Bake for about 6 minutes at 400 degrees F.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

Got a Sesame Street fan in the making? Cookie Monster (blueberries and blackberries) and his friend Oscar (broccoli, peppers and olives) come together in minutes.

Use Greek yogurt in a tasting bowl for the eyes, then add blueberries or olives for the pupils.

Charity Curley Mathews, founder of Foodlets.com

For a more sophisticated take on a classic, make miniature pigs in a blanket. Using store-bought dough, cut half a crescent roll and wrap it around half a hotdog or smoked sausage. Cute and irresistible!